“The acquisition of this technology is simply another way we are working to protect the integrity of our health care environment, and ultimately, safeguard the well-being of every patient who walks through our doors at Palos,” explains Larry Trump, Housekeeping supervisor at Palos Community Hospital.

After a patient room has been cleaned, TRU-D is rolled into the room to finish the job. The robot is operated remotely using an iPad and tracks infection control data. The system disinfects an entire room, including shadowed spaces, without having to be moved.

TRU-D is being used not only in select patient rooms after they have been thoroughly cleaned but also to close the surgical suites at the end of the day. The device has been shown to have a 99.9 percent disinfection rate of all viruses and bacteria, killing pathogens including Clostridium difficile (C. diff.) and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), making the hospital safer for patients and employees.

“The efforts of Housekeeping in implementing several new processes and technologies have really helped to reduce the incidence of health care-acquired infections,” says Anne Myron, Infection Control Practitioner at Palos. “Housekeeping is a key partner with Infection Control in providing a safe environment for our patients.”